Gauge device for alignment of rolls of a rolling mill

ABSTRACT

Device includes a gauge head mounted on a tube positionable in a horizontal plane along the centerline of a rolling pass of a rolling mill including two pairs of opposed rolls disposed around a common point in the center of the roll pass. Gauge head is disposed in the mill pass and is made up of four electrical probes each having a spring-loaded contact tip projecting a uniform distance from the centerline of the tube. The contact tips are spaced 90* apart around the periphery of the tube and each is engageable by the rolling surface of one of the four rolls forming the roll pass when the roll is moved toward the centerline of the roll pass to a predetermined distance away from the centerline of the roll pass for rolling a particular size workpiece. Each of the contact tips is connected through its respective probe to an indicator light in an electrical circuit which causes the respective indicator light to light up when the contact tip is touched by the rolling surface of the roll during alignment of the mill.

United States Patent [191 Box et a1.

[ 1 Feb. 27, 1973 GAUGE DEVICE FOR ALIGNMENT OF ROLLS OF A ROLLING MILL[73] Assignee: United States Steel Corporation,

Pittsburgh, Pa.

[22] Filed: Dec. 16, 1971 [21] App]. No.: 208,775

[52] U.S. Cl. ..72/35, 33/182, 33/178 E [51] Int. Cl. ..B2lb 31/00 [58]Field of Search ..72/35; 33/182, 178 E, 178 R [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1936 Lengel et al. ..333/182 X 2,736,217 2/1956Blain 3,488,856 1/1970 Wikland ..33/l78 F Primary Examiner-Milton S.Mehr Att0meyDonald S. Ferito [57] ABSTRACT Device includes a gauge headmounted on a tube positionable in a horizontal plane along thecenterline of a rolling pass of a rolling mill including two pairs ofopposed rolls disposed around a common point in the center of the rollpass Gauge head is disposed in the mill pass and is made up of fourelectrical probes each having a spring-loaded contact tip projecting auniform distance from the centerline of the tube. The contact tips arespaced 90 apart around the periphery of the tube and each is engageableby the rolling surface of one of the four rolls forming the roll passwhen the roll is moved toward the centerline of the roll pass to apredetermined distance away from the centerline of the roll pass forrolling a particular size workpiece. Each of the contact tips isconnected through its respective probe to an indicator light in anelectrical circuit which causes the respective indicator light to lightup when the contact tip is touched by the rolling surface of the rollduring alignment of the mill.

6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED FEB2 71973 SHEET 10F 2 GAUGE DEVICEFOR ALIGNMENT OF ROLLS OF A ROLLING MILL The present invention relatesgenerally to metal rolling mills and more particularly to a gauge devicefor use in aligning the rolls of a rolling mill to adjust the rollingmill pass to accommodate a particular size workpiece.

The device of the invention finds particular utilization in thealignment of a rolling mill having two sets of opposed rolls or a pairof opposed rolls and a pair of opposed discs disposed in a roll housing.An example of the latter type rolling mill is the Diescher mill. TheDiescher mill is commonly used for cross rolling a steel shell sectionover a freely rotating mandrel as described on page 858, The Making,Shaping and Treating of Steel, Eighth Edition, published by UnitedStates Steel Corporation. The device of the invention will behereinafter described in conjunction with realigning the rolls and discsof a Diescher mill about a common point on the pass centerline.

In the manufacture of seamless tubing, one step in the process is toreduce the wall thickness of and elongate the pierced shell. The machinemost commonly used to accomplish this operation is the Diescher millwhich basically consists of a mill housing containing a roll pass formedby two opposed large horizontally disposed forming rolls and two opposedlarge vertical narrow disc rolls having contoured rims. The two formingrolls and the two discs must be accurately positioned in the housingabout a common point in the pass line. The horizontal spacing of theforming rolls and the vertical spacing of the discs are critical to thesuccessful elongation of the pierced shell as it passes through theDiescher mill. However, in the operation of the Diescher mill, thespacings of the rolls and discs about the desired common pointfrequently deviate due to the large variety of sizes of product made onthe mill. If the dimensions of the spacings are not accurately known andset for a given size of product, defects will be produced in the productwhich require costly repairs and reduce yields from the manufacturingprocess. In addition, the discs are subjected to excessive wear when themill is not properly aligned which also contributes to highermaintenance costs. Prior to our invention, to eliminate theaforementioned detrimental conditions by realignment of the rolls anddiscs required that the mill be disassembled and then reassembledrequiring several hours of downtime and maintenance. To furthercomplicate matters, the techniques used to align and reassemble the millwere inaccurate at best.

It is, accordingly, the primary object of our invention to provide animproved gauge device for guiding alignment of the rolls of a rollingmill relative to each other to adjust the pass of the rolling mill'toroll various sizes of workpieces.

It is a more specialized object of our invention to provide an improvedgauge device as set forth by the above statement of object whichincludes a gauge head mounted on a tube positionable in a horizontalplane along the centerline of a rolling mill pass formed by two opposedpairs of rolls, the gauge being disposed in the rolling mill pass; fourelectrical probes in the gauge head spaced 90 apart and each having aspring-loaded contact tip projecting a uniform distance from thecenterline of the tube; one contact tip being in the path of each rollwhen it is moved laterally toward the centerline of the pass duringrealignment; and an indicator light connected with each probe andcontact tip; the indicator lights being wired in parallel and connectedin a circuit with an electric energy source.

These and other objects will become more apparent after referring to thefollowing specification and drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view partly in section of the device of theinvention installed in a Diescher mill to guide alignment of the rollsof the mill;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view looking at the right end of FIG. 1 showingthe gun sight post aligned with the cone of the invention prior toplacement of the gaugehead bearing tube of the invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially along theline III-Ill of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view partly in section taken substantiallyalong the line IV-IV of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view taken substantially along the line V-V ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged elevational view taken substantially along theline VI-VI of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a substantially schematic wiring diagram of the invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, reference numeral 2designates generally a Diescher mill including a housing 4, opposedupper and lower vertically disposed disc rolls 6 and 8, respectively,opposed right and left horizontally disposed forming rolls l0 and 12,respectively. The two disc rolls and two forming rolls define the rollpass 14 of the mill.

The apparatus thus far described is conventional'and is not claimed asour invention, the details of which will now be described.

Reference numeral 16 designates an elongated tube supported in ahorizontal plane along the centerline of the roll pass 14 by uprightplates 18 and 20 which are attached to brackets 22 and 24, respectively,which in turn are attached to the mill housing 4 adjacent the entry endand exit end of the mill, respectively.

Plate 20 has a cone 26 rigidly affixed in the upper portion thereofwhich extends normal to the plate inwardly of the exit guide 28. As bestshown in FIG. 5, the plate 20 is adjustably attached to the bracket 24by means of bolts 30 which pass through elongated slots 32 in the plate20. Benchmarks on the mill and a transit (not shown) are used todetermine the proper positioning and attachment of the plate 20 on thebracket so that the cone extends along the horizontal plane containingthe centerline of the mill roll pass. Dowel pins 34 are attached to thebracket 24 and mating holes for the dowel pins are drilled in the plate20 so as to insure proper positioning of the plate 20 each time it isaffixed to the mill. As best shown in FIG. 1, cone 26 fits into andsupports the end 36 of the tube 16 when the device is in operatingposition.

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper end of the plate 18 is formed with acut-out portion in which is provided an upright gun sight post 38. Thegun sight post, which projects through a slot 39 in the tube 16, isutilized in cooperation with the cone 26 and a transit (not shown) todetermine proper positioning and placement of dowel pins 40 on bracket22 so that the tube 16 will be supported truly along the horizontalcenterline of the mill pass each time the gauge device of the inventionis installed in the mill when realignment of the mill is required. Bolts43 pass through elongated slots 45 in plate 18 to secure it to thebracket 22.

The gauge head 42 of the device of the invention consists of fourelectrical probes 44, 46, 48 and 50 supported in the portion of the tube16 in the center of the mill roll pass 14, as best shown in FIGS. 1, 3,and 7, spaced 90 apart. Each of the probes is supported in the tube 16by an electrical insulator 52 made of micarta or the like. The probesare each adjustable toward and from the centerline of the tube 16 andeach is provided with a captive ball contact tip in its outer end, eachdesignated by the same reference numeral but primed as the probe it isattached to. The outer end of each of the probes contain a spring 51which bears on its respective contact tip to constantly urge itoutwardly a uniform distance. We have determined a preferable distanceto be one-eighth inch to provide asuitable tolerance during alignment. Aremovable protective shell 53 provided with openings for the contacttips of the probes may be disposed around the portion of the tube 16 inwhich the probes are located. The arrangement of the gun sight post 38fitting in the slot 39 of tube 16 insures proper radial positioning ofthe probes wherein each is engageable by a predetermined disc or formingroll.

As best shown in FIG. 3, during alignment of the mill rolls, contact tip44 will be contacted by upper disc roll 6, tip 46' will be contacted byright forming roll 10, tip 48' will be contacted by lower disc roll 8and tip 50' will be contacted by left forming roll 12 as the disc rollsand forming rolls are moved toward the center of the mill pass 14 duringalignment. The probes are pre-adjusted so that each contact tip is anequal predetermined distance from the center of the tube 16.

Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 6 and 7 of the drawing, it willbe seen that probes 44, 46, 48 and 50 are connected with indicatorlights 54, 56, 58 and 60, respectively. The indicator lights are wiredin parallel and connected to a source of electrical energy, such as abattery 62. Battery 62, tube 16, disc rolls 6 and 8, and forming rolls10 and 12 are grounded to the mill housing 4.

During alignment of the mill, the tube 16 is supported in the mill asdescribed above and best shown by FIGS. 1, 4, and S in the drawing.Initially during the alignment procedure, the disc and forming rolls arespaced away from the center of the roll pass and the contact tips of theprobes and all the indicator lights are dark. The roll alignmentprocedure can begin by lowering the upper disc roll 6 (by manuallyturning a handwheel in the housing conventionally provided for thispurpose) until the rim thereof contacts the contact tip 44 of the probe44 thus activating indicator light 54. Actuation of light 54 indicatesthat upper disc roll 6 is in the proper position spaced from the centerof pass 14 the desired predetermined distance within the oneeighth inchtolerance caused by the outwardly urged spring-loaded contact tip 44.The lower disc roll 8, the forming rolls 10 and 12 are then accuratelypositioned in similar manner which results in both disc rolls and bothforming rolls being accurately aligned about a fixed point on the passline of the mill. This condition is shown by broken lines in FIG. 7.

Upon completion of the alignment procedure, the gauge device of theinvention is removed by removing supporting plate 18 from the entry sideof the mill, withdrawing the tube 16 from the exit guide 28 and throughthe entry guide 64. It will be noted that the spring-loaded contact tipsfacilitate withdrawal of the device from the mill. Plate 20 with cone 26intact is then removed from bracket 24 by removing bolts 30. The tube16, gauge head 42, plate 18 and plate 20 are stored until realignment isnext required.

As best shown in FIG. 6, the indicator lights 54, 56, 58 and 60 areconveniently mounted on a plate 66 which is mounted on the end of tube16 adjacent the entry end of the mill. It has been found desirable touse indicator lights of different colors so as to be able to distinguishwhich light is connected with which probe and consequently which roll.Further, we have found it convenient to use twin lamp holders. The twolights in one holder connected to the upper and lower disc rolls beingin superposed position and the two lights in the other holder connectedwith the forming rolis being in side-by-side position to furtherfacilitate distinguishing which lights are connected with which probes.Wires extend from each probe through the tube 16 and emerge fromopenings in the side of the tube 16 behind the plate 66, as shown inFIG. 1.

It will be obvious that use of the gauge device of the invention reducesthe time for aligning the rolls of a rolling mill to a matter of minutesrather than the several hours involved in disassembling and reassemblingthe mill for alignment as was done heretofore.

While we have shown but one embodiment of our invention, otheradaptations and modifications may be made without departing from thescope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a metal rolling mill having a pass formed by two pairs of opposedrolls in a mill housing, said rolls being positioned about a commonpoint in said pass, the improvement therewith of gauge means for guidingalignment of said rolls relative to each other to adjust said pass toroll various sizes of workpieces, said gauge means comprising anelongated tube, means for supporting said tube in a horizontal planealong the pass centerline of the mill, four probes mounted on theportion of said tube in the center of said pass, said probes beingspaced substantially apart around said tube, a captive contact tip onthe outer end of each of said probes each adapted to be contacted by oneof said rolls, spring means in each of said probes constantly urgingsaid contact tips outwardly, said probes being so dimensioned that thecontact tips are each the same predetermined distance from the center ofthe tube, each of said probes being connected with an indicator and saidindicators being connected with an electrical energy source whereby theindicator connected with a probe is actuated when the contact tip of theprobe is touched by a roll being adjusted toward the centerline of thepass.

2. Apparatus as defined by claim 1 in which said means for supportingsaid tube includes a pair of upright support plates mounted on said millhousing one adjacent the entry end and one adjacent the exit endthereof, one of said plates having a cone affixed to the upper portionthereof extending normal thereto inwardly of the mill dimensioned to fitinto and support one end of said tube, said cone being aligned with thecenterline of said pass, the other of said plates having a gun sightpost in its upper end fitting into a slot in the end of said tubeopposite said one end, said other of said plates being adjustablymounted on said mill housing whereby proper positioning of said tubealong the centerline of said pass is achieved by adjusting saidlastnamed plate by visually aligning said cone and said gun sight postbefore said tube is placed in position.

3. Apparatus as defined by claim 1 in which each of said probes issurrounded by an electrical insulator around the portion thereof passingthrough the wall of said tube.

4. Apparatus as defined by claim 1 in which each of said indicators isan electric light, said lights being connected in parallel and connectedto said electrical energy source.

5. Apparatus as defined by claim 4 in which said lights are each adifferent color so as to readily indicate which probe contact tip istouched by its respective roll.

6. Apparatus as defined by claim 1 in which said probes are protected bya guard shield surrounding said portion of said tube, said guard shieldhaving radial holes therethrough for passage of said contact tipstherethrough.

1. In a metal rolling mill having a pass formed by two pairs of opposedrolls in a mill housing, said rolls being positioned about a commonpoint in said pass, the improvement therewith of gauge means for guidingalignment of said rolls relative to each other to adjust said pass toroll various sizes of workpieces, said gauge means comprising anelongated tube, means for supporting said tube in a horizontal planealong the pass centerline of the mill, four probes mounted on theportion of said tube in the center of said pass, said probes beingspaced substantially 90* apart around said tube, a captive contact tipon the outer end of each of said probes each adapted to be contacted byone of said rolls, spring means in each of said probes constantly urgingsaid contact tips outwardly, said probes being so dimensioned that thecontact tips are each the same predetermined distance from the center ofthe tube, each of said probes being connected with an indicator and saidindicators being connected with an electrical energy source whereby theindicator connected with a probe is actuated when the contact tip of theprobe is touched by a roll being adjusted toward the centerline of thepass.
 2. Apparatus as defined by claim 1 in which said means forsupporting said tube includes a pair of upright support plates mountedon said mill housing one adjacent the entry end and one adjacent theexit end thereof, one of said plates having a cone affixed to the upperportion thereof extending normal thereto inwardly of the milldimensioned to fit into and support one end of said tube, said conebeing aligned with the centerline of said pass, the other of said plateshaving a gun sight post in its upper end fitting into a slot in the endof said tube opposite said one end, said other of said plates beingadjustably mounted on said mill housing whereby proper positioning ofsaid tube along the centerline of said pass is achieved by adjustingsaid last-named plate by visually aligning said cone and said gun sightpost before said tube is placed in position.
 3. Apparatus as defined byclaim 1 in which each of said probes is surrounded by an electricalinsulator around the portion thereof passing through the wall of saidtube.
 4. Apparatus as defined by claim 1 in which each of saidindicators is an electric light, said lights being connected in paralleland cOnnected to said electrical energy source.
 5. Apparatus as definedby claim 4 in which said lights are each a different color so as toreadily indicate which probe contact tip is touched by its respectiveroll.
 6. Apparatus as defined by claim 1 in which said probes areprotected by a guard shield surrounding said portion of said tube, saidguard shield having radial holes therethrough for passage of saidcontact tips therethrough.